Energy News  
ENERGY NEWS
Australians Overtake Americans For CO2 Output As Chinese Emissions Soar

Australia, whose vast size and isolation make for high transport costs for goods and people, has committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by up to 25 percent by 2020 compared to 2000 levels.

Emissions per person in parts of China above rich nations: Stern
One of the world's top authorities on climate change warned Friday that carbon emissions per person in parts of China were higher than in some developed countries. Nicholas Stern, the British author of an acclaimed review on climate change, told students in Beijing's People's University that 13 Chinese provinces, regions and cities had higher per capita emissions than France. Six also overtook Britain. "There are many parts of China where emissions intensity and emissions per capita are looking much like some of the richer countries in Europe," he said in a speech that laid out his predictions on global warming. Stern warned that if the world continued to emit around the same levels of greenhouse gases every year, there was a 50 percent chance temperatures would rise more than five degrees Celsius (nine degrees Fahrenheit) within 100 years. A rise of "five degrees Celsius has not been seen on this planet for 30 million years - we as humans have been here for only 200,000 years," he said. "This type of temperature change involves radical dislocation, it involves re-writing where people can live, it would involve the movement of hundreds of millions, probably billions, of people." "This would result in extended, serious global conflict." Stern's comments came ahead of a key summit in Copenhagen in December aimed at hammering out a new climate change pact to cut emissions. China and other developing nations are opposed to any compulsory cuts in emissions, saying their per capita emissions are low and the responsibility for solving the problem rests with developed countries that have polluted longer. Based on Stern's calculations, emissions per person worldwide would have to fall to two tonnes by 2050 to minimise the risk of a dangerous rise in temperature. Currently, according to Stern, China emits six tonnes per person, the European Union emits an average of 12, and the United States 25. Stern, a noted economist, said he was confident China would lead on climate change action. "China will use its leadership... to explain to the developed world what their obligations are, and China will support developing countries as a whole," he said.
by Staff Writers
 Sydney (AFP) Sept 11, 2009
 Australians have overtaken Americans as the world's biggest individual producers of carbon dioxide, which is blamed for global warming, a risk consultancy says.

British firm Maplecroft placed Australia's per capita output at 20.58 tons a year, some four percent higher than the United States and top of a list of 185 countries.

Canada, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia rounded out the top five. China remains the world's biggest overall greenhouse gas polluter, followed by the United States.

Maplecroft added that China and India's per person carbon production came in at just 4.5 and 1.16 tons respectively, in sharp contrast to their big overall figures.

"Australia has about five times the per capita emissions of China for instance but China produces over 20 times the carbon emissions of Australia because China has such a huge population," University of Adelaide professor Barry Brook told public broadcaster ABC.

"So you can play around with these numbers all you want but ultimately what matters is the total global carbon budget," he said.

"And unless humanity as a whole can find solutions to that problem, then all of that petty bickering amongst nations about who's more or less responsible isn't really going to be very helpful."

The report was released ahead of a major UN summit in Copenhagen in December aiming to thrash out a new climate change treaty.

Australia, whose vast size and isolation make for high transport costs for goods and people, has committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by up to 25 percent by 2020 compared to 2000 levels.

However, emissions trading legislation was defeated in the Senate last month, leaving the target in doubt.

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links



Memory Foam Mattress Review
SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
 Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


ENERGY NEWS
Economic growth tops cutting carbon emissions: SAfrica
 Cape Town (AFP) Sept 10, 2009
 Coal-reliant South Africa on Thursday said it was unrealistic to expect developing nations to set targets for cutting harmful carbon emissions as this would hamper economic growth. In the lead up to the crucial Copenhagen climate summit in December which hopes to thrash out a new climate treaty, Africa's richest state said it is the responsibility of developed countries to reduce emissions. ... read more






The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement